Review: Superior Carnage #1

HE’S BACK EVERYBODY! Your favorite sociopath symbiotic supervillain is BACK and set for the kill!

This fan favorite supervillain has been dormant since his last outing in the rather disappointing crossover arc between Venom and the Scarlet Spider in MINIMUM CARNAGE.

The final results of THAT story arc, however, play RIGHT into how SUPERIOR CARNAGE starts out. The Scarlet Spider has effectively lobotomized Cletus Kasady, leaving the symbiote in complete control of the ex-sociopath. Even with a sick mind like Cletus’s at the wheel, he was still more than just the beast that was a symbiote; the same cannot be said for the Carnage we see before us.

Cletus is being transferred to a new maximum security facility meant to house super powered criminals. However, we do not enter this facility following Cletus, nor do we follow Venom, who was in charge of facilitating the transfer of our favorite symbiote.

We, in fact, begin our issue following you average NON-superppowered criminal, an insider trader by the name of Ted Connely. While ultimately inconsequential to the overall plot this book will obviously take, it’s interesting to see a story narrated by an outsider to all the action.

But this deviation from the norm is cut abruptly short as a breakout had been staged in order to get Carnage out of prison. This leads to the BRUTAL dismemberment of our frightened inmate and reveals the true mastermind of the breakout: THE WIZARD! MASTER OF MIND CONTROL!

Wizard then reveals his ultimate plan: to reform the FRIGFHTFUL FOUR and use Carnage as his secret weapon and the cornerstone of his new group. But it appears that Carnage has no mind of his own and is unable to be controlled. Thankfully, THE WIZARD thought ahead and recruited one other supervillain before breaking Carnage from his cage. Who is THE WIZARD’s new teammate? How will he control the feral Carnage? What is his endgame? We’ll have to keep reading to find out.

One thing that bothered me about this series was that artist Clayton Crain would not be providing the artwork for this mini series like he did for Carnage: Family Feud or Carnage USA. However, he provides the cover artwork which is a nice touch. Instead, we have Stephen Segovia. And while his art does not give off the same eerie textures and creepy feelings that Crain’s does, his art is very much welcomed. Dark shades are laced throughout the book, but they don’t consume the story entirely. Carnage himself also looks EXCEPTIONALLY menacing with this new art style.

This first issue seemed to be dragging its feet a bit, as I felt we spent TOO MUCH time showing off the prison and not enough time setting up the story for our mini series. Overall, I will continue reading this title, as the other standalone Carnage mini series have not let me down. I feel I won’t be disappointed with what may come next.